Telecom Egypt and Alcatel Submarine Networks (ASN) have successfully landed the Africa-1 subsea cable system at the Ras Ghareb station in Egypt.
The cable is known to be 10,000 km long with eight fiber pairs. This system will connect two stations in Egypt. A connection will be established between the Ras Ghareb station and another station on Egypt’s Mediterranean coast.
This system is not only crucial for Egypt’s internal connectivity but will also link Egypt to East Africa, the Middle East, Europe, and South-Central Asia.
Terrestrial routes will also be used to connect the two landing stations. The cable is planned to eventually extend to Tunisia, Italy, and South Africa.
The cable is co-owned by eight major telecom companies. Previous landings have already occurred in Karachi, Pakistan, and Mombasa, Kenya.
Following this successful landing in Egypt, regional connectivity is expected to improve, which will also help boost Egypt’s economic growth.
In recent years, many companies have been working on subsea cable projects to connect Africa and the Middle East to the rest of the world.
In January, Telecom Egypt and Zain Omantel International partnered together; in May, Angola Cables and Camtel joined forces; and also in May, Mauritius Telecom, Orange, and Reliance Jio formed partnerships to improve connectivity services.
This is significant both for the companies involved and for Africa’s global connectivity.
